Thursday, Feb. 15th, 2024, 5:00 pm — Olga Community Center
Call to Order: 5:02 PM
Attendees:
Board Members, present:
Geoff, President
Guy, Treasurer
Paul, Secretary
Dave, Vice President (appeared telephonically).
Board Member, absent:
Pat, Director of Operations.
Operator Representative Sam/EWUA was absent.
Sue was present on behalf of Administration.
Approval of Minutes:
Guy moved to approve Board Meeting Minutes for January 2024; Dave seconded.
All present Board Members voted on motion in approval. Motion was adopted and approved for Sue to publish January 2024 Meeting Minutes.
OWUI Operator’s Report
Geoff presented the Operator Report received from Operator Representative Sam and EWUA, as follows:
Raw Intake Freeze
The freezing of the raw water intake further exposed the vulnerability of the aboveground section of the raw water line.
Sanitary Survey
Dept of Health (DOH) conducted a sanitary survey on Jan. 31st, 2024.
Operator is still waiting for DOH official report. However, DOH’s verbal commentary immediately following the survey was very positive.
DOH noted several points that will require either action or comment by OWUI and are expected to be listed on their survey report.
Continuing our efforts to reduce distribution system leakage.
DOH would like to see a 3-year average of below 10%
Including an E. Coli response plan in OWUI's Coliform Monitoring Plan
Operator recommend the Board appointing a representative or committee to work with Operator EWUA to cooperatively draft a response plan.
Update the Operations and Maintenance Manual
Last Updated 2018
Review and Update as needed:
Cross-connection Control Program
Valve & Main Flushing Program
PRV Maintenance
Instrumentation Settings and Alarms
Modify tank hatch
The access hatch on the water tank needs modifications to improve the seal.
Consider hydraulically disconnecting smaller tank and/or lower shed
Active Distribution Projects
Removal of 'Sofaer Hydrant'
Island Ex was tasked with deleting the hydrant at 448 Pt Lawrence Rd
A wider section of the distribution system will need to be depressurized to complete this removal. Operator would like to set a date for the work to be completed and have the OWUI admin send out customer notification of the upcoming outage.
While this section of main is depressurized, Operator would also like to relocate the water service meter at 448 Pt Lawrence Rd. The current location is susceptible to freezing.
Replace the setter at 73 Olga Park Ln
Working with Island Ex to dig back the main to replace the entire service line and setter.
Filter Scrape
Both filters at the treatment plant are due for scraping .
Operator plans to perform the scraping and ripening process over the next few weeks
Geoff noted to the Board the following follow-up items:
E. coli Response Plan
Geoff to look into E. coli data and response plan requested by DOH. Geoff received template from DOH, and Geoff to work on response plan with Operator Sam and EWUA.
Standard Operating Procedures
DOH asked OWUI regarding its standard operating procedures. Because OWUI’s operations are contracted out to EWUA as the Operator for OWUI, OWUI responded to DOH that EWUA is responsible for performing operations safely. Guy suggested to the Board to request a copy of EWUA’s official Standard Operating Procedures, as these procedures are not itemized in the Operations & Maintenance agreement with OWUI.
Tank Hatch
Geoff will reach out to Sam and let Paul know that Paul can handle sheet metal fabrication to save money.
OWUI Administrator’s Report
Sue presented the following on behalf of Administration:
Member Billing / Receivables
2024 Receivables to date:
$139,092 deposited to date:
$47,800.36 in past 3 deposits
Outstanding Member Accounts:
Will need to follow up with over 40 members regarding payment; Sue to re-email outstanding members with bill reminder.
At next Board Meeting, Sue to present updated Member Billing summary.
General Administration
Proposed Upgrades
Overall, OWUI’s current operating systems and administrative processes need updates to increase standardization, efficiency, and security, as well as to provide clearer communication and collaboration methods between Administration and Board Members.
OWUI physical filing also needs assessment for archiving.
Prior to next Board meeting, Sue to submit detailed proposal for proposed Administration upgrades for Board to evaluate and discuss at next regular Board Meeting.
Treasurer/Financial Report
As Treasurer, Guy presented the following regarding OWUI’s finances:
Financial Reporting
Bookkeeper
OWUI has retained a new bookkeeper, Jazmin Cicotti of Avid Accounting
Jazmin received OWUI’s reports and other financial information from Jerry Noesen, and Jazmin will be issuing reports to Guy each month.
Bank Accounts
Overall, OWUI has about $319,000 in total across accounts at WaFd and Banner Bank.
As approved earlier by the Board, Guy reported he created a high-yield account at Banner Bank to generate additional income for OWUI.
Guy was also previously approved to close WaFd account, and Guy reported he would proceed with the WaFd closure and then consolidate accounts at Banner Bank.
Accounts Payable/Bill Pay
Guy noted to the Board that bills were recently received by OWUI for T&M fees from Operator EWUA. Guy directed Sue to process bill payments via ACH.
Payroll
Due to the bookkeeper change, payroll was inadvertently no longer an automated process and temporarily lapsed at the end of January into early February.
Guy to connect with Jazmin and help ensure payroll processing occurs timely and on an automated schedule.
Upcoming Expenses
Guy asked the Board for any updates from Operator EWUA regarding potential T&M billing specific to the frost emergency.
To date, to Board Members had received any official estimates from Operator EWUA, and no such billing had been received.
Board members to evaluate Operator EWUA billing, if any such bill is received, and may take on further inquiries with Operator EWUA to have better visibility on costs.
Funding for meter replacement
Guy reported that funding for meter replacement may be available via Department of Health (DOH) or USDA, through a rural water low-interest revolving loan. Guy requested Geoff to contact DOH to look into whether “technical assistance” inquiries about the meter replacement need to be initiated online through DOH’s portal or can be otherwise communicated to DOH. Geoff agreed to contact DOH regarding OWUI’s assistance inquiry.
Operations and Maintenance Report
In Pat’s absence, Geoff relayed Operations report as noted above.
Old Business:
Intertie Update
February 1, 2024, OWUI had a meeting with the Department of Health regarding the intertie project. Connecting to DOH was important for the intertie project, as DOH has previously and continued to encourage OWUI to engage in active communication with DOH and continued to welcome inquiries from OWUI. Overall, DOH expressed its need to receive additional data regarding the intertie. OWUI requested recordation of February 1 meeting, but DOH was unable to record the streaming video meeting due to a computer issue.
Next steps, smart meter effort with DBWUA
In reviewing smart meter upgrade plans, OWUI Board to shift to first prioritizing SWSMP and general “take care plan” for the intertie project, as DOH inquired about OWUI’s systems operations during DOH’s site visit on January 31, 2024 and DOH will need additional data for any next steps with intertie.
Geoff, Guy, and Dave agreed that meter updates are important to improve meter accuracy and leak detections.
Board to continue to keep smart meter/electronic meter upgrades in short-term goals for Board to accomplish.
SWSMP status/strategy
In prioritizing SWSMP and intertie project, Board evaluated options for receiving guidance on current SWSMP and improvement plans.
Dave suggested that the Board contact Tom Walker and/or other parties for additional information on SWSMP implementation and best practices with inter-agency projects involving consultant(s) like Barry Buchanan, EWUA, DBWUA, Department of Ecology (ECY), and DOH.
Geoff agreed and is to contact Tom and DOH regarding SWSMP in support of getting SWSMP up and running.
New business
Frost emergency/ response plan
Geoff addressed the large frost emergency faced by OWUI members due to extreme weather conditions in Olga and across the island.
Dave suggested that OWUI contact Operator EWUA to professionally advise on any frost prevention processes to activate prior to the next near-to-below-freezing weather forecast. Guy and Paul agreed that OWUI should ask for prevention procedures or other specific steps to prevent severe frost in the future. Geoff to contact EWUA and ask.
Upon receiving response from EWUA, OWUI Board to review process to expedite frost response, as suggested by Dave, and consider standardizing such communication to OWUI members, as suggested by Guy.
Board public statement to acknowledge EWUA’s work during emergency
Prior to next Board Meeting and on behalf of OWUI Board, Geoff to draft acknowledgement statement and circulate to Board for review/approval before publishing.
Public Access: No other members of the public were present.
Next meeting time was scheduled for March 21, 2024, 5:00 PM
Adjournment: 6:28 PM